WATERFRONT IDLE

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25022, 12 October 1944, Page 4

WATERFRONT IDLE

PROLONGED MEETING . HOLD-UP IN WELLINGTON (P.A.) WELLINGTON. Wednesday There was no work on the Wellington waterfront today owing to the monthly stopwork meeting of the Wellington Waterside Workers' Union lasting until after three o'clock in the afternoon. When the meeting finally broke up the watersiders went home. The Waterfront Control Commission was then notified that the men would not accept engagement either for the remainder of the afternoon or for work commencing at 0 p.m. All-night gangs starting work at 11 o'clock tonight were not affected. It is stated that the prolonged stopwork meeting discussed matters of importance arising out of a recent meeting of the executive of the national union. The monthly stopwork meeting is supposed to occupy two hours, from 8 a.m. till 10 a.m., but in recent months has often lasted until noon, work for the day not commencing until 1 p.m. on some occasions. Permission to carry on until noon has been asked for from the Waterfront Control Commission, which has at times acceded to this request. It is understood, however, that today no request was made for any extension of the meeting beyond the normal time and neither the commission nor shipowners had any intimation that work would not start soon after 10 a.m.